The way out

THOUGH New Delhi's attempt to vilify Pakistan and hold it accountable for sponsoring the terrorists who carried out attacks in Mumbai is losing its bite, it still continues with its obnoxious designs. Turning a deaf ear to what the Interpol Chief said earlier, that Islamabad had no link with those responsible for Mumbai carnage and that India had failed to provide any proof to Islamabad, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has claimed that an FBI unit that is in Pakistan had given the authorities what he claims as "strong evidence" of Lashkar-e-Taiba's involvement in the attacks, on the basis of which he cam ask Pakistan to hand over the culprits to India. Islamabad has dismissed his statement as baseless. But the fact remains that even the Americans have failed to satisfy him as he blamed the US for not pressurising Pakistan enough to obtain the desired results. The Indian demand to hand over the culprits is inappropriate to say the least, for various reasons, foremost among them being that it has failed to provide Pakistan any evidence. Even the US is not willing to support the Indians on this, with the Bush administration saying to it categorically that Pakistan did not need to extradite the suspects to India and that their trial in Pakistan would suffice. The government in Pakistan, in order to further stem the Indian machinations, ought to come out with an unambiguous policy. Rather than listening to the frequent pronouncements made by New Delhi and worrying about them, it should try to satisfy its friends and allies and garner their support in exposing the Indian hegemonic designs because whatever Pakistan might do, it would never placate India. Thus the focus ought to be on allaying the fears and apprehensions of the international community. To do that, the country that is already carrying out a military operation in its tribal areas must nevertheless initiate an inquiry and bring to justice those who are found guilty. There is also another facet to the whole equation. The idea that a Pakistani was involved in the Mumbai attacks should be cause enough for India to declare war on Pakistan is ridiculous. Eleven of the hijackers that rammed airplanes into the Twin Towers belonged to Saudi Arabia, but the US never threatened it with war. Terrorism has no boundaries and is a global phenomenon with networks spread over a number of countries. Islamabad, in order to separate the wheat from the chaff while paying little heed to Indian demand of extradition of its nationals, should carry out a probe and hold a trial of the suspects in the court.